Naruto, The Red Beast of Konoha!
by Gosu
Summary: After failing the Genin exam for the second time, he gets a surprise visit from a certain Jonin. Watch how a small interaction changes our young warriors entire outlook on life.
1. Hitting hard

**Naruto, Konoha's true red beast!**

**Disclaimer: man I don't own Naruto, if I did...Aizen wouldv'e died after the first 64 episodes!~~~~**

"Uzumaki Naruto" Iruka's voice stern as ever rocking the blonde out of his stupor, 3 rugged copies of him laying lifelessly on the floor next to him. "You fail..." The words came, but to deaf ears. Naruto had heard the tone once before, yet the meaning never seemed to change. He had failed the exams once again, letting his new few friends move along again, without him. As the scene seemed to unfold before him, it wasn't before long that the young Uzumaki found himself leaning against his tree, a familiar swing lightly swaying in the wind.

"_Another year for the demon brat."_

"_He is still trying to be a Ninja? Disgusting!"_

"_Mom, who is a demon?_"

"Shh_, honey its no one_"

The comments came to a halt, as the parents quickly pushed their kids away from the Academy, fear present in their faces. Once again he would witness the entirety of his peers, his sensei, his village walk away from his failing dream. Anger present in his whiskered cheeks, a clinched jaw, his fingers drawing blood from his palm. As he continued to settle deep within his thoughts, two set of eyes watched from a far as the boy turned toward the tree, as if to punish himself for those who had so easily dismissed him.

"Why..." He whispered, seemingly to no one. "why can't I just do it right.." He threatened to scream... "WHY?!" He screamed as he brought his right fist down upon the bark of the tree in front of him, which was followed by a flurry of uncoordinated, lightning quick punches. As Naruto continued to beat his hands against the tree, he failed to notice the red spatter caressing his cheek. His eyes turning a ominous red, his blood painting the tree red. His selfish screams, not so secret this night.

As the night began, one Maito Gai was seeing his way home. He had been watching, observing his 3 new students. As he came to a brief stop atop of the academy he couldn't help but spot a orange clad kid destroying his fists against a tree. He could see blood littered around the grass, and yet the intensity the boy attacked only seemed to increase. A large grin fought its way to the mans surface.

He couldn't take it, he could feel something deep within him, something was beginning to take over. "YOSH, SUCH BURNING FLAMES OF YOUTH" The loud voice tore Naruto away from his tree as he saw a green blur jump beside him, only to see 3 quick blurs as the tree in front of him cracked 3 times before it started to fall backwards in slow motion. The blondes red eyes, noticeably to the green suited man faded quickly to a curious blue. To his complete shock the tree which just was falling, now held by the man in front of him, unmoving.

As Naruto began to truly take in what had happened in front of him, he soon found that his punching tree was now in the hands of a strange man he had never seen before. " You...JERK!" The boy declared while continuing to punch the tree with the man in front of him dumbfounded by the blonde. "Oi!" Gai called out being unheard as Naruto continued to punch furiously. "OI, You need to put your body into it!" Guy tried to shimmy with the tree in his arms, but he couldn't quite demonstrate the motion he wanted Naruto to use. "Oi, pay attention I am only going to do this once OK?" Naruto nodded dumbly as he watched Gai do something he never would've thought was possible.

Gai pumped chakra into his legs, and proceeded to bend down, only to push off the ground with the force to throw the tree 30 feet in the air. "You want to turn your shoulder into your punch, and use your weight to project your first forward, Oi, OI ARE YOU LISTENING?!" Gai watched incredulously as Naruto's eyes were fixated on the tree that was 3 feet from crushing the man in front of him. As the tree neared the man, he was surprised to hear a loud crack as the man once again held the tree against his chest. "heh" Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head, "Can you do that again Green man?"

Gai spent the rest of the night punching away at the tree with his new found friend. He would slowly correctly Naruto on his stance, as he was curiously asking about how Gai had been so strong. A story which always tied into flames, and youth, something Naruto didn't quite understand yet. A surprise to Gai, was that Naruto was naturally taking to stances he was teaching him. A few corrections here and there, but he never repeated the same mistake more than twice. As the night went on the tree actually started to slightly move against the green beast. He could sense an overwhelming sense of purpose in the blonde. Something he hadn't seen since another familiar blonde shinobi.

Behind his desk Sarutobi's face was buried deep in his palm as he watched two of his favorite fools destroy village property. One of his prized Jonin was teaching a civilian some of Konoha's coveted fighting styles, something that was definitely unprecedented these days. Slowly the Kage took a drag as he let the developing headache unfold in front of him. The boy would be asking him questions this week, yes he would.

END OF CHAPTER 1-

I totally wrote this in about 1 hour, and honestly I didn't really edit it. I figured if I couldn't fix it while writing, it probably wasn't going to get fixed anyways. I hope this idea isn't toooo terrible, but then again I didn't really explain how the story would come about now did I. :o

PS: Man I was talking about bleach, which I also don't own.


	2. A new beginning!

Naruto, The Red Beast of Konoha!

Hey guys, I am glad I actually had some people to read this last night, honestly I didn't really expect much as I haven't really written much. I read a lot, and its hard to translate years of reading good content into actually being creative, go figure I guess. Anyways if you guys ever see bad tendencies in my writing please feel free to let me know, or give me ideas. I only want to get better, to become something of worth at least to myself ;) Thanks, and enjoy! ( hopefully )

Chapter 2:

Over the last three months, Naruto had been receiving "special" visits from Gai each weekend. At first it started with going over the stances of the Goken fighting style, but Gai soon found that Naruto was very new to actually receiving direction from others. He would learn well, but he was very much the one to take a beating to learn his lesson. After many nights drilling Taijutsu into Naruto's head he had given the boy a set of weights he had just upgraded from Lee. They seemed to be a bit heavy but with each week he saw both of his students growing out of them. He had also received a few books, which much to Naruto's credit he began to live and breathe "Shinobi Etiquette" and "Basic Chakra Theory" the two books Gai provided. The reason being he had never truly learned to read, so the long nights of the week after running laps around the border of town, he would find himself stumbling through the words, learning to read. It wasn't all a struggle as the resident Sarutobi found himself checking in from time to time, explaining certain concepts the boy didn't understand. Between balancing leaves on his fingers, running laps around town, constantly adding more weights to his body, practicing the academy jutsu, Naruto had become a very busy kid.

For the first time in Naruto's life he had seen a drastic boost in not only his shinobi career, but his personal life as well. Gai was such a loud and obnoxious man, like himself.; However when the two were together, Naruto became only focused on becoming stronger. The boy was starting take his career and training much more serious, all the while being made the kid by Sarutobi, Ichiraku, and Ayame. Having the ability to see the more realistic side of things brought the boy down to earth, creating questions, creating more adventure with in the boy than his beloved people ever imagined just months ago. Goals of becoming Hokage became becoming truly strong, which became wanting to have the wisdom to make the hard decision, which became wanting to be loyal to those of his village, all the way back to wanting to become the Hokage protecting his people from harms way, however this used goal wasn't something he had to scream to others. Rereading his books had really gave him a unsaid confidence. The Uzumaki was becoming a Shinobi,, and soon the new world would know.

–

"Naruto-kun" Gai said in a serious tone, "The last few months have been most youthful, and tomorrow you will begin your new years at the academy!" The youthful years began to stream down the mans face. "TOMORROW" he screamed. "TOMORROW YOU WILL SHOW THE ACADEMY THE NEW BEAST OF KONOHA! THE BURNING FLAMES OF YOUTH WILL IGNITE THE HALLS IN PASSION!" The words became cries, the cries became sobs, the sobs became raging waterfalls, a show of two boys, hugging each other on their knees, cast perfectly just a front the unnatural scene.

"NARUTO"

"GAI-SENSEI"

"NARUTO"

"GAI-SENSEI"

"NARUTO"

Minutes passed as the two stood again, subtle red stained beneath their eyes, as the scene again drew a bit more serious. "I was able to pick a few more books, and some neat weights courtesy of Tenten!" Gai handed Naruto both gifts, and explained the books "History of Shinobi." and a hilariously labeled "GOKEN, BY MAITO GAI" The title actually included his name. Naruto managed to bite his lip, tears once again threatening to come. He clutched the gifts close to his chest as Gai explained the way Chakra weights worked. "By focusing chakra into these weights, you can effortlessly increase the amount of weight you train under!" Gai emphasized each word with a arm swing, as if he was using a ruler to point things out."HAI" The blonde responded passionately as he took the weights in his hand, giddy to test them out soon. The weights a dull gray, with the simple word "BEAST" along the side. _Perfect. _He thought. The night continued on as guy softly explained what was to come of the academy, and the two reminisced over their speedy short stint as teacher/student. As the night came to the close, the two parted ways, as Naruto was finding it hard to stay still. The last three months had changed his life so much. As tomorrow brought a very important new day, the boy fidgeted in bed for hours before passing out.

It was 6:30am, the brisk air chilling the warm skin of our Sunkist warrior. He was just beginning a warm up lap, he didn't sleep much last night, which left his body weary. All of which didn't matter as 3 months of running the same route had only trained him to ignore such things. As 3 hours passed running, he quickly showered and found himself in his new outfit he had purchased slightly after the summer had began. Black ninja pants, a black t-shirt with a dark gray leaf symbol crafted in the front, the Uzumaki crest on the back. A fresh pair of ninja sandals with metal plating on the bottom. He carried a kunai pack on his right knee. He sat in front of the mirror for a few minutes, until he saw he had only 10 minutes to get to class, he jumped out the window.

"Alright class, I am Umino Iruka, I will be your sensei for the remainder of the class. This is Touji Mizuki, he will also be teaching here as well so treat him with the respect you would any sensei." The scar faced Chunin pointed out the silver haired man before quickly getting right into having others introduce themselves.

"Akimichi Chouji"

"Yamanaka Ino"

"Nara Shikamaru"

"Haruno Sakura"

"Uchiha Sasuke"

"Aburame Shino"

"Inuzuka Kiba"

"Hy...Hyuuga Hinata"

"Uzumaki Naruto"

The class introductions came to a halt as the students looked around, as if to grade where they were amongst the class. "OK class, today we will be testing where everyone is on 3 separate subjects, Physical strength and stamina, Knowledge of Shinobi, and finally we will all learn how to tap into our chakra. I know some of you may not have been ready for this, but it is OK we will only use this to see how we can help you move forward, to help you improve!" The room heard a resounding sigh, many of the kids had not planned on jumping right into a test, so today would so who shinned, and who had yet stood blunt. "You will be rated 1-10 on each subject, and at the end of the day we will tell you where you stand now, and where we would like everyone to be by the end of your stay at the academy." Iruka motioned for everyone to follow as they began their way outside. As the kids walked outside single filed, Naruto took the first turn at the Physical portion of the test, a small smirk fell upon his face, he was ready.

~~~ END OF CHAPTER ~~~~

Thanks again for reading guys, I hope I can continue to enjoy writing this. I feel like I have a good idea for the story, but I think in order to keep it in time I may have to do a time skip. It feels like its the only way to actually get some sort of work done without being stuck in the Academy forever! Anyways as always, thanks and enjoy!~

Gosu


	3. Making my mark

Naruto, The Red Beast of Konoha!

**Hey guys thanks so much for the reviews I love reading them! I definitely will create a Naruto I feel fit to play the part of the red beast. I don't want to clone any canon character, while still respecting where he comes from. I am trying to find a way to do a time skip, without missing too much key information. Any ideas? LEMME KNOW IM NEW. Thanks again, and enjoy!~~**

Chapter 3:

A sheet of dust shrouded their vision. A beautiful day in Konoha, now cloaked in a dull gray. Naruto had always been fast, but now as he rounded the first quarter of the track he was on par to break the record set by a certain Uchiha. Iruka's mouth touching the ground, such an improvement was not what either him Mizuki had expected. Silence rained down upon the waiting group as they waited for Naruto to round the halfway mark, a smirk undoubtedly perched on the boys face. Soon he would have no idea of how high the bar was truly going to be set. Blue streaks started spewing out of the weights, Nearby Chunin became alert as a very free chakra assaulted their senses. Gai had gave him a set of rules when living, and practicing day after day with weights. Usually it wasn't necessary to drop the weights as he was already making great time, but after 3 months of talking the boy through different topics his life became the subject of improvement. A warrior was only as strong as he believed he was. He had always been the class clown, the dead last. Attention was the only consolation he received after two failed tries at becoming a true Shinobi, there was only way apparent to Gai for Naruto to continue to seek the right kind of attention.

- f_lash back _-

_ "Naruto, you remember how I told you never to take your weights off unless to train at accelerated speeds?" Gai spoke surprisingly soft as the boy nodded in return. "Tomorrow there will be a few tests that you have taken before I'm sure you remember." Naruto's face grimaced as he remembered never getting better than the middle of the pack in one subject, Physical Strength. "I want you to run first, and I want you to run as fast as you can until the half way point, and then..." Gai's face was stone as he emphasized the next part. "I want you to crush them, I want you to know how much you have improved. I want you to know how much only 3 months has done." Naruto's face was held in a smile, one only rivaled by a kid who had received a new toy. "I want you to release the chakra in your weights, and burn the memory into all of your peers mind."_

_end of flashback -_

Naruto's speed tripled as he saw the finish line fast approaching as hepassed the class, whispers filling the air, questions ever present in Iruka's ear.

"_Who is that?! He is kind of cute!"_

"_Are those whiskers real?"_

"_Troublesome... why try so hard on the first day"_

"_So fast"_

In order to keep everyone focused, Iruka quickly shouted "GO!" as the next student naturally reacted late to the command before stumbling off the start line. Naruto walked by Iruka back to the class, hearing the most inspiring thing he had ever heard from the man before, something that would set the tone for the rest of his tenure as a student. "Naruto, you just beat the academy record by 1 full minute. I don't know what the hell you have been doing, I hope you keep it up... because if you do... Rookie of the year is easily within your grasp, good luck kid" His voice small so only the two could hear, not wanting the crowd to think he would favor the blonde, even if he did.

As the day progressed no one held a candle to Naruto in the physical portion of the test. There were a lot of good showings for the class, but no one received the 10 that the Uzumaki had received. The atmosphere had definitely became much more serious after his run, even the few stray fan boy claims were few and far between. This was something that Iruka had instantly picked up on, Naruto had unknowingly just told the entire class the simple truth, "_You won't beat me_" However subjective it may have been, the mind of a teenager was very much prone to drawing its own conclusions, and the only ending in sight was defeating everything Naruto stood for.

The Shinobi test was more of a basic test to see where peoples head were at, relative to the ninja world. As the kids wearily found their seats the test soon began. The squeaks of chairs moving, pencil lead breaking, sharpening them the only noises heard. Naruto remembered that the concepts of his books, and understanding the situations presented was incredibly important. As he knew he had an hour, he read through the 10 questions through 3 times times before attempting to answer them.

- Academy test -

_Who dictates what missions are assigned with in Konohagakure no Sato?_

Naruto recalled reading through his books every night, it was very firm in his books that the leader of a Hidden Village was the resident Kage. Sarutobi Hiruzen was no stranger of the boy, and the weeks spent interacting had only solidified his knowledge of the Shinobi hierarchy.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen, The Lord Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato"

_Who rules over the entirety of the Fire country?_

This answer was something Naruto had remembered from his first year at the academy. He had foolishly put down Hokage for most of the answers on the first test. The class went to review answers, calling on Naruto as he raised his brazen hand with the up most confidence only to be shot down by Iruka after the class sat for minutes laughing at the pouting child. Funny how the rest of the answers always seemed to slip his mind, this one never quite lost its sting.

"Fire Country Daimyo"

_Name the two most important tools a Shinobi has in his arsenal?_

The first lines of "Basic Chakra Theory" was something Naruto repeated to himself every morning before starting his training regime. "The basics of Chakra Theory are easily the most useful tools a Shinobi can have. A focused mind, a Willful imagination, and a strong body to ground the chakra conjured for Jutsu, and other types of chakra application.

"Mind and body"

_What are two of the types of Missions a Ninja can expect to be considered for?_

"Infiltration, Security detail"

_Who founded Konohagakure no Sato?_

"The First Hokage"

_What are the 5 main Hidden villages known in the Shinobi world._

"Sand, Leaf, Rain..."

Naruto was starting to get frustrated with the questions, he had answered the few he had remembered but he was slowly starting to knock against his table nervous about the rest of the test.

_What type of meals are Shinobi typically known to carry on missions outside of the village_? "Blank"

_What are two ranks a Shinobi can attain through promotion_. "Blank"

_How many missions have you completed so far in your Ninja career_? "0"

_What rank do you currently hold as a Ninja_? "0"

No one had to explain that he wasn't a ninja, 2 failed exams were enough to cement the last two questions.

end of test -

"Pencils down, eyes forward!" Iruka's voice echoed through the room as pencils began hitting the hard table tops. "Now before we go through the answers I want you all to correct your own answers, and I want you to correct them honestly. This test isn't something that will be graded, it is to see where you are today, your first day. This test had questions we don't expect any of you to know, and some questions we expected you to answer incorrectly out of lack of knowledge, this is OK." The rooms collected sigh brought a soft smile to Naruto's face, he wasn't the only one. "All of you are going to be awarded 5 free points for this test, and going forward any points will be added to this test, as well as the Physical, and Chakra portion should you exceed 10 points." Naruto was ecstatic. After correcting everything, he counted a solid 22 points. He had been working on Chakra for three months the next portion was his to lose.

The students had all gathered in the front of the class, sitting cross legged as Iruka started to explain the Chakra portion. He showed the kids how to use the ram seal, and how to search in their stomach to tap into their Chakra. "This test is cut into 2 parts, Knowing the RAM hand seal which will award anyone here 5 points, and for anyone who can access his or her Chakra will receive the last 5 points." Iruka finished, It was a bit basic for Naruto, so it was no surprise that he received a 10 leaving him at the score of 32. A permanent smile etched into his face. The day quickly came to an end as Iruka met with the other students to go over their performance today, soon enough the two found each other face to face.

"Naruto, today you provided some of the most impressive results I have ever seen here at the academy, you tied the best initial test score of Uchiha Itachi, as well as broke his record for the Physical test. I can't tell you how proud of you I am today kid, its definitely looking like a new year for you." Iruka patted the kid on the head, getting some of the laughter he had yet to hear today. "How about some Ramen?" Not much else was said before the two were soon in front of their favorite place in the world to eat. All the while they reminisced, Naruto insisted on how he could learn more about the Shinobi life. It was something he hadn't shined at during the initiation test, and he wanted to fix it. The boy was showing a very new, inquisitive side to himself, and Iruka couldn't help but to indulge. He suggested a few books here and there to pick up from the Academy's library to help him learn the essentials. As the two went to their own ways Iruka stopped the boy once more.

"Naruto, I know you have been working hard to improve since the last exam. You have improved tremendously, you ever tied our highest score to date! That being said going forward I think we both can kind of tell what things you have to study. Ninja will always have Strengths and weaknesses, however if you want to become Hokage you will need to have strengths, and super strengths. Take this from where you are now, on top. If you can stay on this new track you've adapted so well too.. The sky is truly.. truly the limit." Iruka ended with a smile, before swiftly disappearing in a swirl of leaves. The blonde stood there a few minutes, a few tears finding their freedom as he ingested the moments just before. Uzumaki Naruto was just beginning to taste the clouds

End of chapter 3 -

Thanks again for reading guys, I just have to warn you as I write these I feel myself getting more and more and more and more corny. If I get to be too much you gotta let me know! Well thanks again guys, and please do review! It only stands to help me not being a scrub FF writer!


	4. Then, and Now

**Naruto, The Red Beast of Konoha!**

**Hey guys, thanks so much for the overwhelming show of support! I was really a surprise going over the reviews, and seeing people pumped to see what happens. Honestly I feel like my chapters need to be a bit longer, and possibly I should be looking to make a little more personal interaction time. Regardless I look forward to reading more reviews, and I will respond to anyone who has ideas going forward! As always, Thanks and enjoy~~**

Chapter 4:

The years quickly passed for the class, the students truly setting a new standard for Iruka to strive for. With in a few months the class had started to really taken to the new Naruto. Both fan girls, and guys a like gravitating toward the Jinchuriki. He had continued to improve, holding his place as a top student among the group. Although the results weren't as easy as he would come to find. Sometime during the beginning of his year he had picked up a few friends, who occasionally played as training partners. More and more he would see people filtering in and out of training. The core of the group would run laps in the morning, and tried to learn how they could apply chakra with their newly learned school jutsu. Truth be told, Naruto had taken jutsu fairly quickly, now that he had the control to run through them with minimal risk. Almost as a Sensei, Students would seek his ideas, direction, and most important his praise. The respect amongst the group was unsaid, but it was most definitely returned ten fold. Naruto was just as much reliant on the group, they had taught him lessons not so easily learned in a classroom.

flash back -

"_Begin!"_

_Right as the command came Naruto dashed toward his opponent, finishing his fights quickly, and efficiently was important. Naruto closed in on his opponent, when he was finally in range to do some damage he saw the foe swiftly pull a rock out of his pocket before throwing it at the blonde. Naruto jumped over the rock, a smirk finding its way to his face as he had found his chance. Surprisingly as he landed he noticed his foe had made some considerable ground between the two. With out a second thought the boy continued pressuring his opponent only to find the same result, finally after what seemed like forever, He found his opponent cornered. 'Now you are mine' he whispered to himself as Naruto took off aiming to end the spar. As the boy jumped once again avoiding the repetitive rock, he could see right in front of him that his opponent wasn't moving. As the boy landed he cocked his fist back, pressing forward with all of his might to end his opponent's day._

"_Kagemane no Jutsu!" The Pineapple headed shinobi shouted as Naruto found himself locked dead in his spot. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what had happened, one second Shikamaru was standing there looking as bored as ever, and the next a smirk plastered across his face. "I can't... I CAN'T MOVE!" Naruto screamed desperately. "What did you do?!" Now frantically doing everything he could to move. "You finally followed me far enough toward the west side of the training area, so I could use the shade from the Oak tree to catch you in my trap" Shikamaru explained "I was using the rocks as a distraction to put distance between us. Soon enough I found the comfort of the shade. This is the Nara kekkei genkai, we use our Chakra in unity with the shadows provided to attack, or in this instance defend." Naruto was in awe after hearing how the boy was making him work in his stead. It was truly a brilliant plan, and the hand Naruto raised in defeat only solidified that fact._

_end of flashback -_

Naruto had always been an impatient kid, and it really would show through as he began playing games of Shogi with the young Nara. The early games proved futile as Naruto would use his pieces too brazenly. As the months went on he slowly started to gain respect of each role he would control, and soon he started to develop what the Nara described the "Undecided Uzumaki Attack." He learned how to threaten certain parts of the board, but he would leave his own inner bored open for attack. Soon the two would start the game with strength moves, as it was how Naruto carried his pieces. However the conclusion remained the same, Shikamaru had always gotten the upper hand. Naruto was beginning to become his own shinobi, and his mind while not always aware of his surroundings was very adept at making good fast paced decisions. He had only lost the one spar during his tenure as a student this time around, and the class would only see him improve from there on.

The year ended with results that had left their instructors baffled by the competition. The Exams had come and gone, and the classes were now present to receive their Jonin instructor. A new man sat in front of the class, a subtle cough present behind his clasped hand. The man cleared his voice, and began speaking to the classroom. "Congratulations on passing the Genin exam, first and foremost obviously I am not your sensei. Iruka-kun came down with terrible illness last night and will not be present today. I have here the Teams to which you have been assigned, followed by the names of the top 3 performing students this year. Remember teams were hand picked by Umino Iruka, and the Hokage."

"Team 7, Instructor Jonin Hatake Kakashi, Genin Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Team 8, Instructor Jonin Yuhi Kurenai, Genin Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuba Hinata, Aburame Shino."

"Team 10: Instructor Jonin Sarutobi Asuma, Genin Yamanaka Ino, Akamichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru."

As the teams were picked no real complaints were heard, Sakura had always had a crush on the Uchiha, the Uzumaki boy wasn't too bad to look at. She was a very smart girl, constantly on top of the Academic Portion of class. It was when she found herself falling where the other two had accelerated. The Genin had all been suprisingly well versed for the year, as most kids spent the nights getting to know each other, training became routine after class. Sakura had actually made a respectable showing during the Academy, despite not showing any real physical talent.

The boys had a brief glance at the other, a small smile traded between the two. Truth was they had became true Rivals during class. They wouldn't openly compete with each other, but it was where they would intently watch the other practice, spar, study, anything to get something to work with when visualizing a spar. They had spared twice during their stay at the academy before anything of substance developed. The Uzumaki meant business, and it wasn't until Sasuke had suffered his second loss that he found himself begrudgingly approaching the blonde, seeking help.

flash back ~

He had been following the blonde since they had left the academy, a fresh bump christening the top of his left eye. While he could see himself getting better, the boy before him was yet again untouchable as he was in the first spar. Sasuke trailed the boy to keep an eye on him, he noticed that the boy was using a long path that generally went around the village. After around 30 minutes they had successfully found themselves near where he had originally started shadowing the blonde. Sasuke's mind focused onto his prey, and the beast started running directly toward a tree with a sudden burst of energy. 'We just finished running around the village, what are you' The Uchiha panted, as he soon saw something he had never imagined was possible. He was running directly up a tree, his feet seemingly sticking to the bark.

Naruto was just finally starting to get the hang of the tree walking exercise he was immediately caught off guard as he heard a voice from his back side causing him to fall. "OI, How do you do that? Running up the tree? Show me!" The Uchiha demanded as if he was entitled to know the technique, walking out of the brush he was enjoying so much. Naruto stood on the ground staring directly at the sky for a few seconds taking in what happened. His face quickly turning to a scowl, he did not like wasting time during training. As the Uchiha had grew closer and closer, Naruto rolled back and used the momentum from his roll to spring off of the forest floor, drop kicking the Uchiha effectively removing the air from the boys lungs. "WHAT THE HELL, WHY WOULD YOU SNEAK UP ON YOUR COMRADE?" He yelled as he walked over the to boy, annoyance clear in his voice.

The Uchiha gasped for air for a bit, surprised by the hilariously hypocritical attack. "I … I wasn.." Sasuke was finding it hard to explain the situation "I am..Sorry.." It came off awkward to both of the boys, but even Naruto knew how stuck up the boy could be. "I have never seen someone walk up a tree before, how did you do that? Can you show me how its done" A blonde eyebrow found its peak today as Naruto took in what the boy as asking for, help. After being flustered a bit by the question, Naruto had decided on a good way to answer the raven haired kid.. "Do you remember how we learned to access our Chakra in class?" another question.

end of flashback ~

The boys had spent every night from that day forward training together, constantly challenging the other to get better. Naruto's serious, yes playful attitude had really started effecting the Uchiha early on. When Naruto would try and teach Sasuke anything he was finding the boy increasing more and more complacent. Naturally the only way Naruto had learned to deal with the lack of attention was with a hands on approach. Successfully beating the Uchiha until he paid attention, much like Gai to him when they started training together. Though the boys were really only working on Chakra control, strength conditioning, and Taijutsu, it was their communication and critique during training that would elevate them during the months. It was also the work that had created a strong bond between the two.

Here Team 7 sat waiting patiently for a man who was said to be there over 3 hours ago. Frustration had hit hard a good while ago, and traps were already in place. The blonde had become a more humble person, but some things were just too good to pass up. After what seemed like whatever a silver haired man walked through the doors, 20 chalk ridden erasers rocketed from the ceiling casing the man in white. A few coughs were heard as as the man actually spoke to the group. "My first impression of you, is I hate you."

~~ End of Chapter 4. ~~

Man this chapter was harder to write than the others, I found myself going back and forth and changing things too much. I am starting to notice I use the word AS quite a bit. Its one of my favorites I guess. I am going to have a bit more interaction between Naruto and Sakura coming. I am trying to decide how I want to go about it because I don't know what kind of relationship the two will have. You got an idea for me, lemme know~~ Anyways Thanks again guys have a good one~.


	5. All for one

Naruto, The Red Beast of Konoha!

**Thanks so much for reviewing and responding, its really a pleasure when writing these type of things to have feedback coming from the readers. If you have ideas and questions feel free to say so, I will always try my best to respond.**

**Recently it was brought to my attention that pairing may be something I will need to explore at some point, so I mean if you have ideas of what you would like to see please by all means let me know. I know I have a specific TenTen fan who has been messaging me :P Thanks for the reviews again guys, and Enjoy~~~**

Chapter 5: All for one

The 3 newly minted Genin sat still as their Commander looked over the group, an unnatural intensity coming from the man. The feeling alone was enough to make the kids sweat. The two young men of the group smirked, the feeling was familiar to them. Sakura bit her lip as the man's gaze seemingly pierced through her. Naruto had risked their careers with the childish eraser prank, now she sat fearing the minutes yet to come. "Sheeeesh" Kakashi sighed as the air immediately became lighter, the man suddenly not so intimidating. "You two" he eyed the boys, "You are too serious, this is just our first meeting eh" He lazily finished as the two found themselves completely confused,"And you missy, what has got you all worried?"

Kakashi clapped his hands grabbing the attention of the group. "Anyways, before we get started why don't you guys introduce yourselves." Kakashi suggested lightly as the Genin took it in. "Mah, Sensei how should we introduce ourselves?" Sakura asked Innocently, getting a short answer from the Jonin. "Likes, Dislikes, Dreams, that sort of thing." Kakashi pointed toward the blonde signaling him to go first.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like feeling myself progressing in life. I like Jiji, Maito Gai, and Goken . I dislike judging a book by its cover, and the untrustworthy. My dream; I have had a few dreams over the last few months, but if I had to choose one it would be becoming the strongest, most fearsome Hokage I can be." Naruto finished softly as the two others grasped the seriousness in his tone. Normally such things would be laughable, however the other two had understood early on that Naruto wasn't one for jokes.

Sakura stood up, unsure of how to respond to such a bold dream. "My name is Haruno Sakura, I like..." She looked over to Sasuke, but for some reason found herself frowning. Just a minute prior Naruto had set such a noble goal for himself, and here she was thinking about a boy. Granted Sasuke was great, it felt bad to know she hadn't really thought of what types of things she liked. Sakura could easily tell you what she disliked, but when it came to her future or anything relative to things she truly liked she was lost. "I don't have an answer at this time, sorry Sensei" Kakashi softly smiled as he silently motioned the Uchiha to take his turn.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, and I like perfecting the fire jutsu my father taught me, I like those who take their career seriously, I dislike.. a certain man. My dream, my dream is avenge my Family, and rebuild their legacy as the strongest clan in Konoha." He ended confidently, his voice honest in every word. Ever since meeting Naruto, he had learned to open up. Being around such a driven individual only furthered the depth of his feelings toward his past. From the man who obliterated his family, to the memory of his lost loved ones. He was set on his path, and now he had a Jonin to help further his goals.

"You guys sure have some exciting personalities!" Truthfully Kakashi was shocked by the answers. Truly prophetic statements from the boys, and such an honest deflection from the girl. This group was definitely interesting. As he thought over the heartfelt responses he hand decided it was time to move forward with the group. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, I don't have many likes, I dislike a lot of things, and you don't really need to know my dreams." He ended with a smile, causing the room to falter. "Now that we finally have that over with," Kakashi said dully "Tomorrow we have our first mission, Survival training." Sakura quick to respond, even as her tone came off as a question, "Sensei we have already completed the Survival Training at the academy... Why are we going to train for a mission?"

The question was answered with an hysterical laugh, "Well, if I say this, I'm sure you guys probably won't believe me, Out of the 27 graduates, only 9 will become Genin. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a 66% failing rate." The group became visibly surprised only creating more laughter. "Pretty crazy right, do you still want to know why we are going to train?" The girl slowly nodded her head yes, She didn't want to be the reason that Sasuke, or even Naruto had to return to the Academy. "The main reason we do this training is to see if you are worth our time." The boys were both radiating focus, knowing this could possibly delay their careers. As Kakashi picked up on the tension, now was the time to part ways."Be at training grounds 7 at 5am," he began to walk away, " Oh, and don't eat breakfast" He turned back to explain, As swirl of leaves appeared where the Jonin had once stood. He was gone.

–

Naruto woke up around 3am eager to warm up for today's training. There was one thing he would come with, an utter belief in preparation. Naruto finished 2 laps before training began, arriving to the grounds around 4:30. Naruto would do anything it took to become a Shinobi. He had been reading his books through and through before passing out last night. He didn't think being ordered to skip eatting was a reasonable order. Nutrition was a very important part of being efficient. Something was up, and he was curious about what would happen today. Naruto was soon joined by his teammates, both oddly very much awake. They all stood silent as the group began stretching their limbs, trying to loosen up the tension. Soon they would be fighting for their Ninja careers, and the teens seemed incredibly aware of that fact. The last few minutes seemed to draw out as they saw 5am roll around with no Sensei to be seen.

30 minutes later the patience of the group had became a silent threat for their sensei. The Genin were both hungry, irritable, and furious. As Sakura;s frustration had reached its limit, she needed to forget last nights sleeplessness. There was no way to get beyond her thoughts of inferiority, uselessness, and insecurity after yesterdays introductions. Playing her answer back in her head over and over, she had spent hours crying to herself. It wasn't an easy meal to eat, and how funny it was to her that she had always dieted. How could something as easy as being truthful with herself be too much to swallow? She couldn't live like that anymore, she needed a different vision going forward and she had to start now. "My name is Haruno Sakura, I like helping people, I like literature, I dislike the unkind, and the insecure." she looked down slightly. "My dream is to become a respectable Shinobi, and find something I have talent for as a Kunoichi." Sakura's tone finished strong as her eyes caught the glance of her team. Her steel gaze not quite explained the butterflies in her stomach at the moment. Truth be told it felt silly to go through such a personal thought with her team, but she had to be open with her team if she ever wanted to be honest with herself. Her team smiled back, making her blush slightly.

Sakura had just caught his attention, and for once it wasn't as an annoyance. He had always seen her as a simple fan girl, but here she was voicing thoughts of a true Kunoichi. The Uchiha boy smirked, the group he had been given was certainly showing promise. He knew for a fact that Naruto was incredibly strong, but ever since the introductions yesterday he had only questions about the girl. It wasn't that he didn't see the possibility of her being an asset, there just wasn't any reason to count on it. Sasuke's personality had began to surface during his training with Naruto. It took a lot for the boy to be humbled, but months of being schooled by the shorter blonde was enough to make some changes. His cockiness beat out of him revealing a very smart, calculative, motivated young man.

"I spent all of last night looking over how our teams are suppose to function." The blonde stated, "The idea that we were not to eat breakfast as a whole is kind of silly, especially now since our sensei hasn't shown up. It will only render us weaker, and less efficient come training time. I say we eat now that he hasn't shown up for half an hour. The worst thing that can happen is we throw up, but seeing as how he was a few hours late yesterday I don't believe he will show up anytime soon." The blonde reached into his bag, pulling out two simple rations motioning for the other two to take them. Sasuke quickly took the ration without a second thought. Sakura stood hesitant of the offer being the stickler she was. She took the offer, and held it suspiciously in her hand before she opened it up and nibbled on it. If they were going to eat she had nothing to lose by following suit, it was completely logical to the girl.

After the group had finished tiding their appetite, they stood in mostly silence while waiting for their sensei. It was nearly 10am before their saw a familiar swirl of leaves, followed by something they didn't expect. "Hello my temporary students!" he chided as Sakura grew red, the boys silently bothered by the statement. "YOU'RE LATE!" The girl pointed, wanting to jump at the man. "A black cat crossed by path so.." he raised his hand embarrassed, all 3 genin falling flat on their faces. "Anyways to the point" Kakashi took out a clock and placed it on a nearby tree stump. "Today you are going to try and get these bells from me, if you don't get a bell you will be tied to those tree stumps over there. Then you will watch whoever did get a bell eat." The Genin looked intently on the bells, all of them aware of only seeing 2 bells. "What's with the bells, there are only two?" Sasuke spoke for the group. "I must have forgotten my third bell, it looks like someone wont be able to complete the training. Meaning they will have to go back to the academy, after missing lunch of course!" he cheered as the atmosphere seemed to get very tense.

"Ready?"

"Wait, wait WHAT?!"

"Set"

"No, wait!"

"Go!"

Kakashi quickly disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving them to their own devices. The Genin stood still for a minute before one of them spoke up, "I don't think its possible for any one of us to take on a Jonin head on." Sasuke spoke out loud, the others nodded dumbly. "Yeah, but only two of us can pass, and obviously you two are much more capable shinobi than I am." Sakura said, her tone that of stone, strictly speaking facts amongst the boys. "It doesn't matter who passes, this is my third time in this sort of situation. I've failed the academy before, going back would probably be the most logical for me. You guys didn't take 3 times to make it out, but that isn't important now." Naruto replied, an excited grin on his face. "I know this is going to sound reckless, but I think we can definitely get those bells. My sensei always said more is better. I know we all have something we excel at. If we can work together we just might be able to grab those bells." Naruto finished, earning to fierce nods in return. "Alright this is what we are going to do."

Kakashi was hidden between a few bushes just outside where the test had begun. Being just in range to hear everything they had said, a smile hidden beneath his mask. The man couldn't be more proud of his Genin. They had already passed the main part of the training, and it had just begun. Now that he knew they would pass, he had to see where they were as Ninja. As he thought over the possibilities, he was interrupted by a volley of weapons coming from 3 different directions. Kakashi quickly dove under the attack as he saw the two boys jump out from stray bushes, running right for him. The Jonin readied himself in a taijutsu stance, but before he could set up to block their attacks more Kunai began to storm down from the right side of his position. His veteran mind quickly processed the attack as he caught a stray Kunai and started deflecting the blades. Sasuke and Naruto quickly pulled out another set of Kunai and filled the gaps in Sakura's sheltered attack. Throwing Kunai toward the head, left side, and legs successfully forcing him back. Kakashi kicked off the ground, jumping back to avoid the assault. As he stepped back he noticed the boys holding hand seals, and to his amazement they both disappeared before his very eyes. "_Kawarimi no __Jutsu" __echoed through the field as a puff of smoke shrouded their former position. Two stray Kunai falling helplessly to the ground._

___Clever, you used the first batch of Kunai to give you targets for your Jutsu, while leaving me to prepare for the next attack. Now I am cut off from all exits, with only 1 trick left to use. Whether or not you bet against me underestimating you, I lost this hand._

_ Kakashi realized he couldn't dodge this attack, quickly he turned away from the Kunai just feet away from his back.. "See you later boys" Kakashi waved as the Kunai embedded into his back, stopping the boys abruptly, worry set for their sensei. Sakura jumped out of the bushes and ran over to the boys paniced. "What happened to him? Did he just turn into smoke? Was it a bunshin? Is he dead?" She layed into the boys nervously. Naruto raised his hand silencing his teammates. He was surveying the area, searching for a sign of their enemy. "He is alive, that was some sort of bunshin. We still have 2 hours or so to catch him by my estimation." Naruto jumped to the tree line, quickly followed by his comrades._

_ Two hours of playing cat and mouse came and pass. The Genin soon found themselves in a very familiar opening, the resounding ring of failure heavy on their shoulders. As they all walked over to the tree stumps Kakashi jumped in front of the group. Today they had shown a very promising understanding of teamwork, and loyalty to their comrades "You all..." Kakashi spat harshly beginning to give them a thumbs down._

_"PASS!" A happy voice, a glistening eye, a thumb standing straight up. 3 Genin face planting._

_"YATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A"_

_~~ end of chapter ~~_

_Sorry for the wait guys honestly this chapter was a bit hard to write, I am finding it increasingly hard to change the base of the REAL story. Rest assured I am continuing to learn my stuff. I feel my writing is kind of crowded, I have no real sentence structure. GOTTA WORK ON IT. Anyways Thanks again, and please review! ~~~~_


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